Date Reviewed: 06/02/07

Length: 46 miles.

Technical Difficulty: Moderate. Mostly unmarked corners and 2 1/2 miles of gravel at midpoint of ride.

Location: This ride report runs east from Carlton to west, ending in Beaver. Begin at intersection of Meadow Lake Rd. and W. Main St. at N45° 17' 31.5" & W123° 11' 18.4" and ends in Beaver at N45° 16' 38.4" & W123° 49' 35.1".

Connects With: Hwy 47 in Carlton, Willamina Cr. Rd./Bible Cr. Rd. and Hwy 101 in Beaver.

Amenities: Full in Carlton. Gas and groceries in Beaver.

Places of Interest: The beautiful Nestucca River that accompanies the road for more than half the ride, Meadow Lake, Carlton, several campgrounds and extreme remote beauty.

Review: Discounting the 2 1/2 miles of gravel in the middle of the route, this has to be one of the best rides in western Oregon. If the gravel section was paved, you couldn't find another road better for the combination of curves, remoteness and sheer beauty. On each end of the route there are sparse home sites and small farms you'd expect to find up creek drainages in rural Oregon, but for the remainder of the ride there is nothing but motorcycling fun! There seems to be less recent logging activity in this part of the Coast Range so the forest is more consistently grown up with few clear cuts.

Beginning at the western edge of Carlton, it is only a mile or so until you begin to appreciate this extraordinary road. Traversing the Coast Range foothills, you'll enjoy the smooth sweepers and the smooth pavement as you gradually rise up and out of the Willamette Valley with views of tree farms, vineyards and the quickly receding valley.

At about six miles of relaxed, but interesting corners and hills, the real climb into the Coast Range begins. For the next five miles the pavement is inconsistent but not bad. It goes from extremely good to mediocre with a few patchy sections. But the ride and the views just keep getting better and better. At 11 miles in you begin to realize this is a special motorcycling experience.

At the 16 mile point begins an approximately nine mile section that is nothing short of spectacular! Except for several hairpins that forced the RT into second gear, I put it in third and kept it there all the way to the gravel at 24.5 miles. It really doesn't get any better than this. Clearly marked centerline, albeit with no shoulders to speak of, this section is what we live for: constant corners, great sight lines, perfectly designed corners and stunningly beautiful scenery along the Nestucca River. Besides the paved road, there are few signs of man's intrusion into this country as the road snakes through a tunnel of alder and fir. There are a few sunken grades through here but nothing extreme and they are well-marked by the county road crews. I assume these will be fixed soon. When they are there will be absolutely nothing bad about this section of motorcycling nirvana.

Since me and the RT find gravel a rather white knuckle experience, there was nothing for me to recommend on this section except a couple of nice looking campgrounds and fishing holes. Fortunately, it's only 2 1/2 miles. This section is where the road crests the Coast Range and leaves the river quite a ways below the road.

The pavement begins anew at the confluence of the Nestucca River and Elk Creek. From here all the way to the intersection with Bible Creek Access Rd., at about 31 miles in, the road is very good but not quite as pristine as the nine miles before the gravel. It's still tunnel-like, the corners are great but the pavement quality isn't as consistently smooth as the eastern half of the route.

The remaining 15 miles to Hwy 101 would be a worthy experience unto itself. The pavement varies from absolutely perfect to poor with a good rating overall. The highlight is the almost constant appearance of the river. The closer you get to Hwy 101, the more frequent the signs of human activity becomes. The last six or seven miles to the coast is pleasant and allows for some fun but you need to be careful, and respectful.

Take a break in Beaver and reflect on the great ride through Oregon's Coast Range you just experienced. Despite 2 1/2 miles of gravel, this is a wonderful road and well worth seeking out. Highly recommended!

Rider Comments

"Indeed a great ride!! Took this on a Wednesday (7/25) so the road was practically uninhabited. I used every gear on the Shadow! Following the Nestucca river through the mountains was spectacular. The 2.5 miles of unpaved wasn't as bad I was prepared for. There isn't much gravel to speak of right now and for the most part the dirt was smooth. Next time I'll be packing my fishing pole somehow." - Chris T., Tigard, Oregon

"This ride is exhilerating and I recommend it highly. A young man at a gas station in Carlton recommended riding up to Meadows Lake, so what I thought would be a rather short ride mid afternoon (05/04/08), turned out to be a bit longer than expected. The roads are what a motorcyclist drools over, and the scenery was truly beautiful up until I saw the sign which read 'Road Pavement Ends'. Choice was to go back 35 miles or forge forward. This stretch of very, very rough road with pot holes that tested my shocks to the max, I couldn't tell you about the beauty for I was too busy trying to avoid consecutive black holes and not get too close to the edge. My Sporster was not ideal for this terrain but it sure made for an exciting ride. Found a camper who had planted himself in a gorgeous campsite and he stated that we were about 10 miles to the coast. Long day, but road back to Portland with a smile on my face. I recommend this road highly." - Christine Prapas, Portland, Oregon

"Rode this on 5-16-08. Road conditions on the east side were great. The gravel section is fine, as long as you don't drive in the potholes...there was very little loose stuff. Had no problem on the Dyna, but you'd better have your eyes open. Pavement conditions on the west side were not as good, there are several sections of sunken grade and some ongoing construction with sections of either lane removed and graveled. I assume they'll have it repaved soon. Even with the construction (and potholes on the gravel section) this is a great ride." - Bob Brown, Independence, Oregon

"They are doing road construction on Nestucca River Road on the way to Blaine and there is 5 miles of gravel plus torn up pavement. I talked to the flagman at Blaine last week (9-26-2008) and the construction won't be finished until late 2009." - W.G. Churchill, Cloverdale, Oregon

"[When riding the western end toward Beaver] and ride a big cruiser, be prepared for it to devolve into gravel, washboard and craters with the occasional tiny remnant of pavement thrown in. It's like a recurring cruel joke - just when you think you might be hitting good pavement, it changes back to bone-rattle mode. It does this over and over again. Tillamook County tells everyone that improvements are "only a few years out." They've been saying that for the 15 years I have lived here just to quiet local groans and complaints. In the road department's defense, annual slides, river cutting, tree falls, etc., make this path a never-ending maintenance nightmare, ie: don't hold your breath waiting for it to be fixed in our lifetime. If they ever get the surface redone, it will be a very nice route. Until then, carry a rump pillow and big tube of Preparation H for the Beaver leg." - David Godsey, Nehalem, Oregon

"The Nestucca River Road is now all paved from Beaver to Bible Creek Road. They did a great job repaving from Blaine almost to Bible Creek. Took out all the sunken grades and potholes :-)." - Bill Churchill, Cloverdale, Oregon